


Breeze *is subject to change

by orphan_account



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Dirty Jokes, Horribly Dark, M/M, Multi, Rarepair, You’ll have to squint for XZero, d - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:00:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22486711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: All Axl has ever known in his lifetime is tough love, and to never let his guard down, but one day he meets the only reploid that can change that. But once he makes a horrific discovery, how low is he willing to delve to save him?WARNING PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DIGRESSION IT GETS INTO DARK TOPIC FAST.All I can say with the most amount of sugarcoat possible is it explores events that will cause so much trauma to the characters.
Relationships: Axl (Rockman)/Lumine (Rockman), X/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 33





	1. 1) The Inspection

**Author's Note:**

> VERY UNFINISHED-  
> Ahh and my really shitty writing  
> If you recognize me from somewhere else I’m so sorry

Axl has always despised warrant inspection orders.  
  
They had been tedious, seemingly unnecessary, and worst of all-  
They lacked the action that Axl so craved.  
Action being literally the reason he became a Hunter in the first place, had come at a price.  
And that price was warrants.  
  
"Cmon, Signas!" Axl pouted, crossing his arms like a small child; feeling the irritation in his abdomen grow. “This is so unfair!”  
  
"Axl,” Signas sighed, “This is vital to the mission you are assigned next week- you can't just skip out on the parts you deem 'boring'" Signas gestured air-quotes, keeping his fatherly, yet sassy tone.He struggled remained calm, Axl's childishness vexed him. So much so he’d compare it to the irritation he felt of Sigma’s return.  
  
"He's right, Axl." A husky voice called from behind,  
"You can't make me and X do all the boring crap-" A tall blonde figure appeared beside Axl, putting a reassuring hand on his head, ruffling his hair. “Now _that’s_ unfair, Axl”  
  
"Besides,” Zero let Axl peek up at him, “if you _do_ flake I'll have you doing towel-pushes till’ your limbs rust off!” Zero cackled, shoving Axl’s face toward the floor.

  
"Nohh!" Axl whined- "Why do I have to go this time anyway?” Axl struggled, “You never send me, Signas! Just X and Zero!" Axl was now grasping at Zero's hands in a fruitless effort to pry his strong hold off his helmet. 

Zero turned strawberry pink and retracted his arms quickly when Signas sassily raised one eyebrow at the crimson reploid.  
  
"No comment." Signas reached down under his desk, and Axl saw him dump a large amount of a liquid into his beverage from the reflective window. “Despite bruh our _greatest_ _assets_.” Signas let his sass put for a little bit, Apparently they still need supervision.”

Signas smothered a chuckle with a long sip from his mug, shaking his head at Zero disapprovingly.  
"Alright now, you are dismissed." Signas waved them out of his office as Zero playfully pushed his small comrade out of the room, garnering more annoyed complaining from Axl.  
——————  
"What was that all about?" Axl leaned over to look Zero in the face, who in response had looked away in shame, crossing his arms.  
"Not for your ears to hear, private" He muttered.

Suddenly, his neck reeled in Axl's direction, then to the opposite, whipping a whirlwind of blonde hair at Axl, the synthetic fibers painfully thwapping at his back.  
  
"OW!!" Axl yelped,

“Asshole!” He said, knocking his fists into Zero's bulky arm, trying to even the score.   
“What was that for!?” Axl rubbed his back, which was raw from the spiky silicon hair strands.

“Because you made us 10 minutes late, stupid.” Zero laughed as they neared the boarding port where a blue robot stood. 

He had his hands on his hips, tapping his foot at an impatiently fast speed.  
  
It was X, his gem glowed a bright vermillion was he caught sight of Zero after staring down Axl with parental disappointment, telling him he was very late.

"Hey Shaqster~" Zero swooned, opening his arms for an embrace. X promptly shut him up by smacking him across the face-  
  
"Blind ass!” X scowled,

”That shit burned for five hours! And you bamboozled the poor medbay staff!" X fumed, fury twisting his round face into a frown.  
  
“Signas had to wipe poor Cetto’s memory!” X gestured in the general direction of the Medbay.

"Not my fault you keep IcyHot next to the-" Zero was hushed again by X covering the other bot's mouth.  
  
"Hey Axl." X deadpanned.  
"Hey X!" Axl greeted cluelessly, yet curious and confused at X and Zero's odd behavior, and why Zero called X ‘shaqster’.  
X looked around, slightly mortified.  
  
"How long have you been here?”  
Zero mumbled something behind X’s gloved hand in response, probably some sarcastic or snarky remark that’d earn him another slap.

"Too long! Let's get going." Axl huffed as he pushed past the other two bots and boarded the ship.

——————  
"And that's about it-" Alia's holographic figure nodded over to the tubes containing three power-up boxes,

"Protective dress code is needed for moon travel-“ She rapper her chin,

“something Gate said about joints fluid exploding?” She laughed at the hunters as they cringed at the morbid description

”-And to match the uniforms of the workers as to remain secrecy.”

“Oh- and sorry to break it to ya’ Zero, you gotta tame your mane, honey.” Alia smirked, Zero groaned in response after she cut comms.

“Great”, Axl thought; just as his day couldn't get any worse.

He loved his old armor and as far as this new one fit and looked-  
It was so lame.

"Ugh, I feel so bare." Zero complained as he equipped it begrudgingly. “Is this what the filling of spring rolls feel like?” At that, X almost doubled over laughing as he put his suit on, confusing Zero as he was completely serious about that statement.

Axl looked at himself in the reflective dash.  
White armor, accented with deep indigo and green.  
  
" _All of my wrong colors_ " Axl thought, scrunching his nose in disgust.  
It had a slick, deep indigo bodysuit making him look similar to Vile, much to his irritation.  
He loved the sharp bulkiness of his old black and orange scheme, it made him look tough.  
  
This one was sleek, and tufts of hair jutted out at the front of the helmet, which was along the same standard as the rest of the horrendous outfit. He looked terribly skinny and reminiscent of the fashion droids in the tabloids. A sign of weakness as considered by Axl.  
  
He looked at Zero and X, Zero obsessively tugging at the tight fit. Axl secretly cringed at the stark difference between the white and the old, crimson armor. The only thing he'd really enjoyed about it were his bangs showing, and how the opening of the helmet resembled a crescent moon.  
  
Axl found joy in knowing he’d get the chance to put his mess-called-hair in a nice, tidy bun as per dress code.  
  
Then there was X.  
Needless to say he pulled off the look effortlessly.  
  
He had a small waist and legs that were slightly thicker than his and Zero's. The endeavors of custom-jobs Axl assumed. It clung to him like a second skin, and his chest plate had flattened slightly to fit with the whole design. His helmet left some chocolate brown tufts of hair fraying out.  
  
"How come X actually looks good?" Axl snorted.  
  
"I don't know!" X giggled and covered his face, Zero took him by the shoulders and shook him.

"Yeah, _X_! Spit it out!" Zero stopped shaking him as X cackled. Zero assaulted him with tickles, but was interrupted by the PA. Axl drew his gaze to the control panel in response-  
" _Landing in T-60 seconds_ " it monotonously droned.  
Axl turned and sighed, trudging away to the door, and bracing for the inevitable agonizing boredom to follow.  
——————

As Axl, X and Zero entered the elevator building, and were greeted by a barren lobby. Slick chrome tile extended from wall to wall.

They were a shiny aluminum-like substance that acted as a very large mirror. The ceiling was shiny too- but duller compared to the floor. It casted a light purple glow over the circular room.  
  
They approached the desk towards the receptionist, boots clacking over an insignia planted in the floor. It had a purple moon that had light yellow and blue ringlets interlinking throughout the design. Axl marveled at how immaculately clean it was.  
  
"Hello, welcome to the Orbital Elevator." The reploid greeted them, calm and pleasant, "How may I assist you?" The receptionist bot addressed the group with an articulate and clear tone. She was clearly programmed to be of higher status than her current job. Axl wondered why she was down at a reception desk instead of in a lab.  
  
"Maverick Hunter investigatory warrant." X said, matching her tone, sliding a tab from his data pod over to her window. She tapped it, opening the document and checking the authenticity of the stamp at the bottom.  
  
"X, Zero, and Axl correct?"  
They nodded in unison as she slid the link back to X's tablet. The reploid brushed her dark brown hair aside to access her receptor.  
  
"November Alpha Echo, I repeat, November Alpha Echo to Echo 3, I repeat, to Echo 3, request Block 8-."

She paused.  
"... Affirm?" She looked shocked.  
  
"Sending Golf to November Alpha Echo 3 all stars en guard." She gestured toward an elevator shaft, X, Zero, and Axl shuffling inside, as the doors closed, and they began their ascent.

Axl had studied NATO code for a while, not many Reploids understood it ironically.He silently applauded the entities that created that code, they had great humor.

  
"Kinda ironic-“ Axl said, breaking the silence, “an elevator inside an elevator!" Axl laughed at his own joke. X and Zero sighed in humorous disappointment.  
——————  
  
Axl stepped out into the office first, followed by X and Zero, the office's dim LEDs casting a serene, faintly lavender glow. The hallways were eerily empty compared to the Maverick Hunter bases', which were constantly bustling with traffic.  
  
Only two reploids were milling about in this area.Axl assumed they were doing maintenance checks on the structural integrity of the building because one held an x-ray scanner, and the other had a data tablet; busily relaying lines and lines of text.

He started a little bit longer until a swift clacking of heeled boots shook Axl out of his trance, his eyes following X and Zero's gaze.  
Coming down the hall was a slender, graceful figure strutting towards them. The reploid, keeping their head high as they smiled politely at the Red and Blue hunters, not taking notice of Axl standing behind them.  
  
"Good evening, Inspectors X and Zero," The reploid gestured with both arms out.  
  
"Welcome to the Orbital Elevator,” Their voice was like a gentle breeze, so calm and soft, yet crisp and exact,

“I am Lumine, the director of the Jakob Project." He gently offered a handshake to X, then Zero.  
  
They then both moved away to reveal the third robot, Axl.  
Lumine peeked over as they moved, and Axl caught the lavender-haired reploid's gaze, his citrine eyes widening.  
  
"Oh- there is another one." Lumine kept his gaze trained on Axl, approaching.

Lumine must have lost his shit right then, because he was completely hyper-fixated on Axl; paying no heed to the previous events or his surroundings.  
  
"You're a new-gen reploid, aren't you?" He looked Axl up and down, making the ginger-haired gulp nervously.  
  
"...Yes?" Axl muttered, almost cowering, under Lumine. The slender reploid's eyes scanning and soaking up any data he could find.  
"Interesting. What is your model?" Lumine leaned back and tapped his chin, waiting patiently for Axl's response.  
  
"Actually- I'm a prototype. I'm not mass produced." Axl put a hand on the back of his neck, chuckling and averting his eyes.  
  
"Fascinating..." Lumine's gentle voice was now almost a faint murmur. He had inched oh-so closely to Axl's face, examining it closely.  
There was a pause as they both stared each other down, Axl eventually loosing track of time.

”What a unique design,” Lumine inched closer, ”all that detail...”

“Who created you?” The pale reploid waited patiently for an answer, so close that it rendered Axl unable to respond, choking on any words that manage to squeeze their way into his mouth. Lips, parted, he began to speak- 

"Are we going to start or not?" Zero interjected impatiently, but X bumped his shoulder for his impoliteness, giving him a dirty look.  
  
Lumine swiveled around so harshly that had he been human, he’d get whiplash. It startled X and Zero so much it made them jump.  
  
"Ah, yes! Excuse my loss of professionalism." He puffed out his chest again, lifting his head high and clearing his throat as he directed them out of the room.  
"Let us begin."  
  
Axl was left dumbfounded, paralyzed with shock for a few moments before regaining his composure, scrambling to catch up with the group.


	2. 2) Lumine looses his shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axl: *exists*  
> Lumine:  
> WHAT IS LOVE-

  
"And that," Lumine took a small breath,  
"is the Jakob Project in full." Lumine turned, a proud and admittedly creepy grin plastered on his face.  
  
Axl looked at Zero and X, Zero sat, arms crossed, rolling his eyes behind Lumine as X listened intently, typing notes at mach speed.

Lumine stole one more glance at Axl as he left, returning to the elevator while the group was left to exit the lobby.  
  
"Thank you, come visit again soon." The lady at the desk called as they closed the door behind them.  
  
"Axl, you were right," Zero yawned,  
"that was boring as hell." He stretched, limbs audibly popping from under-use.  
  
"I believe it was insightful, and helpful to us Hunters." X mused, clutching his notepad.  
"The view from space was breathtaking." He added.  
  
"I bet Lumine thought the same for Axl," Zero chuckled, nudging Axl.  
"what was all that attention about?"  
  
"Oh yeah, he was really infatuated with you, Axl." X leaned over to peek around Zero's frame.  
  
"You're telling me," Axl crossed his arms and huffed,  
"Guy gave me the creeps. Plus, I bet he was just interested because I was a new-gen like him."  
  
Zero laughed at that statement,  
"That might be true, but I've got plenty of admirers, I know a pining bot when I see one." Zero had an overwhelming feeling of cockiness while he said this, straightening up and giving a triumphant grin.  
  
X smiled, shouldering Zero.  
"Yeah, even the medbay and navigator bots-" X dramatically whined, "Layer, Hue, Cutte, and Navi to name a few." X almost spat, loosing the playful tone.  
  
"Jealous?" Zero pinches X's cheek,  
"Maybe Alia has-" Zero started, before a muffled, staticky voice interjected.  
  
" _Zero, I swear on Livesaver's sanity if my name comes up in your conversation one more time I'll be making your life a living hell_."

  
"Alia?" X approached Zero's hearing receptor, the source of the noise.

" _Yeah, Signas has it rigged to call me in when you say my name, plus I'm not about to get into the Hunter gossip, last week was not fun. Explaining a dick joke to sexually incapable robots is like teaching quantum physics to a fetus_." The sass spilling out of her mouth like natural.

"Now if you excuse me, I'll go back to my job." Alia then shut her comm off, leaving the group frustratedly huffing.  
  
"Well,” X tried lightening the mood, “maybe you should give him a chance if he does like you, Axl." He gave Axl a warm smile,  
"You never know, maybe he's more similar to you than you think." And with that, the group made it to the ship.  
  
Axl stared out the doors as they pressurized shut, playing X's words over Lumine's image over and over. He pondered if he was really into guys or not.

"Damnit, X. Your gay is rubbing off on me." He thought, pouting to himself.  
——————  
  
Lumine definitely had lost a couple screws, he was sure of it. Never in his lifetime had he been so interested in another bot that he had lost all professionalism. He buried his face into the padded interior of his recharge port.  
  
"What is this feeling?" Lumine thought to himself, lifting his face to retrieve something to clear his mind. Maybe some water to boost his coolant production would suffice.

He approached the sink he had and filled a used E-Tank cup with the fluid, sipping it slowly. He let his hair down from the crest-shaped form, sighing as he let images of the 'Axl' reploid slide in and out of his head.

That fluffy, unkempt ginger hair, and the scar plastered on his face, that goofy grin- Lumine audibly groaned as he facepalmed.  
  
He decided to make his way to his computer dock- a troubleshoot system his creator designed to upkeep his file records, updates, and software stability.

Lumine unlatched the compartment holding a cord that he fed into a port in the large device, simultaneously powering it on with the flick of a switch.  
  
“Welcome, Lumine.” The program greeted him,  
“Troubleshooting?”  
  
“Yes, computer.” Lumine sighed.  
Lumine fiddled with some extraneous coding in other tabs while the diagnostic’s loading bar gradually filled with a purple light.  
  
“All clear, there are exactly 0 threats to all systems.” She sounded pleased, and Lumine should be too, but he had secretly hoped there was something wrong. Something that he could fix. Lumine was sure this feeling was far from normal.  
  
"Why?! Such an unruly and messy bot!" He scowled, pondering some more, leaning against the counter holding the computer.  
"I can't believe this," he swished the water around. He paused some thought processes for a moment, contemplating.  
——————  
  
It would take Lumine a few days to realize it.  
And when it hit him. It hit hard.  
  
Lumine was preparing his hair for the work day when the solution had struck him. He had been glancing at the morning news, and a commercial for a product he could not name was showing. There was a couple sitting in front of the moonlight, displaying their affections one saying,

“You’re so cute!” As they stroked the others’ _ginger_ hair.  
  
Lumine’s jaw dropped, eyes widening, he jumped from his seat in front of his vanity. “That’s it!” He clutched his hearing receivers, it was the very fact he was so starkly different from Lumine that made him so appealing in the first place.  
  
The fact that Axl did not conform to any regulations or rules, his sheer ruggedness yet playful and happy mood made him... Cute.  
  
That was it, he was just super cute. And once Lumine let that thought marinate, his face turned cherry-red.  
  
Axl was like a delinquent, he was rowdy and messy; something Lumine was reluctant to admit he adored greatly.  
Lumine categorized this new feeling as adoration, feeling it was adequate for the time being.  
  
His core-rate Increased as a yearning feeling crept into his mind. An invasive day-dream of him spending time with Axl, laughing and being affectionate in a scene bathed with dreamy light, making his core go into overdrive again.  
  
Lumine hung his head in defeat still, cursing the AI aspect of his being; feelings being the thing that always hindered his intellectual growth.  
  
And then he had another eureka moment.  
“Intellectual growth...” he tapped his chin.  
Lumine has always been in the pursuit of knowledge, he believed it was the ultimate source of power. In this situation, he was technically correct, you could have total power over someone if they were completely devoted to you.  
  
Emotional attachment being a human’s strongest will- and Axl, a reploid being modeled after such. And his striking resemblance to a human....  
  
“Yes...” Lumine trailed on and on in his thoughts as he prepared for the work day.Finding more and more logical reasons to justify his next action. It normally being severely against his better judgement.

(out of character edit)

So far no one has figured out the NATO code joke it put in here-

Whoever does it first gets a cookie from me.


	3. 3) Alia Layer and Cetto are best buds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I left poor Palette out-  
> It for a reason, kiddies  
> Also more dirty jokes because I have the humor of a seventh grader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnnnggg I can’t write long chapters to save my goddamn life

Axl entered the communal recharge room, sighing.

Sometimes he’d forgotten his own lower-class while field-training with the A and S-ranks like X and Zero. He didn’t have a high enough designation for an individual room, so he had to share it with 3 other humanoid reploids of his type and class.

The first, Toré, an old-gen lightweight was gone out on a mission. He had the longest dark brown hair, and he was really obsessed with maintaining it for some reason. 

The second, Youa, was rummaging around her bag for her weapon. Youa was really disorganized and clumsy, much to her bunkmates' humor.

And the third, Elise, was recharging peacefully. Axl has heard she was a repurposed sex reploid after the Rep-Rights laws had been passed. She was really shy, and was not too keen on friendly physical contact. Well, except from Cetto, who was all over her constantly.

Axl bit his lip, secretly yearning for a partner like that. He really wasn’t close with anyone romantically, most people thinking he was either annoying, or like a little brother to them. Axl turned his gaze to the floor, shuffling to his recharge port, he was fed up with being treated as lesser. 

All he really ever wanted was someone to miss him and to see him eye-to-eye. He wanted so bad to be admired like Zero and X were and to have someone; but not for them to put their hand on his shoulder, but to stand beside him.

Axl laid down, brushing his wishful thinking out of his mind to review his comm inbox for any missions scheduled before he got back to work, arms crossed under his head.

Instead, he found a note from an unknown link.

It was a yellow and orange digi-flower. Axl was shocked, but it soon faded into emptiness at the realization it was probably just spam. He furrowed his brow, it was so insensitive to use a proclamation of love for some annoying marketing scheme. It rotated in front of Axl’s vision, its tiny silken petals folding over into itself over and over again. He fell asleep studying it, not even examining the text that was accompanied.

————

Axl yawned, reaching up to stretch, but instead of extending his hands to the air above him he unceremoniously knocked them into a surface right near his face. His eyes flashed open as his body jolted up in a panic. Axl yelped when his forehead gem slammed into the glass. After he realized he was in the recharge port and not under a pile of rubble, he groaned and clutched his gem, opening the lid only to hear Toré double over in laughter.

Axl grumbled curses under his breath, flipping Toré the bird as he trudged towards the cantine. He was hoping something could happen that would boost his spirits; maybe Storm Eagle or Kuwanger would get in a fist fight with Zero again. Those were always hilarious, especially when X would step in. All of them seemed to scramble into line when he was involved. 

Axl supposed it was their crushing on X talking. It was really obvious for all of them. How Storm Eagle always insisted he let X ‘fly with him’ (aka; X riding on his back) or how Kuwanger hugged X too many times- for _wayyyyy_ too long, and how Zero almost literally is never seen without X, and how he got so protective over him.

He laughed to himself as he walked on, “ _X is so oblivious…_ ”

...Or maybe he just enjoys the attention-

As Axl passed the MedBay, suddenly remembering he had to check his mission requests. (The task he’d failed to fulfill the previous night.) Almost frantically, he navigated to his inbox. Upon opening it, and seeing it was empty, he caught sight of the Digi-Flower again. 

It’s yellow-orange color has remained vibrant, and tiny water-droplets sparkled in the GIF-format.

Axl enlarged the tab it was held in, and found the accompanying text:

_Dear, ‘Axl’,_

_I informally invite you to join me at Maya’s Coffee Shop Thursday at 11:30 am,_

_I thought you were very attractive during our first interaction; albeit awkward and embarrassing on my part. (I apologize)_

_And I would like to make it up to you by taking you out for lunch if you so choose._

_Have a nice day! <3 _

Axl’s coolant ran cold.

A love note?! Why? And more importantly, from who?

Axl read it over and over, utterly shaken to put it lightly.

  
  


————

  
  


“Who even confesses like that?!” Alia recoiled at the note, which had been displayed in a public screen for his table mates; Alia, Layer and Cetto to gawk at.

“They sound like- so pretentious-“ Cetto said as she took a closer look-

“how did your hoe-ass get a _scientist_ to fall for you?!” Cetto teased while nudging Axl, who was grumbling at the fact she called him a ‘hoe-ass’ of all things. 

The rest of the group was leaned in like those crime investigators in the old TV shows X loved. Everyone had the face of intense focus, which made Axl laugh on the inside.

After a long silence, one girl piped up,

“It reminds me of Gate, could it be him? Their language is very similar” Layer shyly mumbled,

“Bold of you to assume Gate has feelings at all-“ Alia snapped, picking at her fruit cup. 

“Especially for Axl, it’s out of the question.” 

The venom in her words would have stung badly had it been directed at Axl.

Gate was a really cold, sarcastic guy, and Axl was sure Alia had also admired him greatly for his intelligence considering how she used to hang out with him all the time. She said he was actually kind and charming on the inside a dozen times before. He wondered why she was so bitter about him now.

Axl forced himself to break the painful silence made by Alia’s emotional baggage and spoke, “So it can't be anyone I know _here_ , I’m pretty new- '' he sighed, scratching at the base of his ponytail.

“What about your last mission? Meet anyone there?” Layer simultaneously put a reassuring hand on Alias shoulder, “Maybe your admirer isn’t here at base?”

Then Axl slammed his head onto the table, 

_hard._

“Axl!” They yelped in unison, reaching for him.

“Have you gone Maverick?” Alia halfway scolded,

“What’s wrong with you?” Cetto took him by the shoulders and shook Axl. He could barely get his answer out because she was jolting him around so hard. It was until Layer stopped Cetto that let Axl really speak.

“It’s this guy I met at the inspection of the Orbital Elevator…” Axl bowed his head in embarrassment,

“Lumine, the director? He acted all creepy and got up in my grill when we were there, can’t believe I didn’t notice it was him all along.” 

Axl pauses dramatically, but when he was met with silence, he looked up to check on his friends, who were gawking at him.

“...What?” Axl was internally panicking,

_‘The hell is with these people? Is everyone crazy?’_ He thought to himself, absentmindedly fiddling with his gloves.

“Lumine...” Alia’s stare was cold and piercing.

“One of the most powerful reploids in Abel?!”

  
  


————

“ _Whhhaaaaattt?”_ Axl’s jaw fell so fast, had it gone any further it would have smashed the table.

“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait-“ Layer stroked the bridge of her nose,”You had _no_ idea that you were part of the inspection of the Jakob Project-“ She sighed,

“Did you even know why there was a warrant?”

Axl dumbly shook his head, “No one told me anything about it.”

Layer hit herself in the head several times. Alia looked up from her food, 

“Well he’s not a high enough clearance, anyway. The only reason he was sent there was to make sure Zero and X didn’t get _off task_ from returning to base.”

“Huh?” Axl tilted his head, one eyebrow raised.

“Uh- you know-“ Alia trailed off, searching for an adequate euphemism for their topic-

“They _always_ fuck right after missions, dumbass. They take _wayyy_ too long to come back.” Cetto blurted, brashly to say the least.

Axl gagged, “ ** _EW_**! WHAT THE HELL?” He jumped back, almost falling out of his seat.

“How long has this been going on?!” 

“Oh honey, longer than you’ve been alive.” Alia sassily nodded her head, straightening up.

“Ever since Sigma was still head-honcho.”

Her voice hushed a little as she smiled and blushed a faint pink, “When Signas was tiny!” Alia giggled into her bite of fruit.

Axl was left, jaw dropped in appalment. 

_‘Guess_ **_I’m_ ** _the oblivious one…”_ he thought to himself.

“Well… What should I do?” Axl fiddled with his gloves again.

“Say no! He’s creepy as hell! And he has _no_ eyebrows!” Cetto halfway yelled, “Guess who _also_ doesn’t have eyebrows-“ she inched closer to Axl’s face to show her sincerity. “ **_Sigma_ **!”

“Hey now, you can’t just _deny_ Lumine,” Layer warned.

“How about you try it out?” She took both Axl’s hands in reassurance,

“We’ll protect you if he tries anything funny.” she said,

“right girls?” Layer gazed back at her friends, giving them the most sparkly puppy-dog eye. They stared for a while, struggling to not give in to Layer’s admittedly adorable expression.

Then finally, Alia gave in. “GAHH, _fine_ we’ll go undercover to watch Axl, but you’re paying for dinner.” She sighed.

“Woo!” Layer cheered softly, “Cetto and I are off today, so let’s go get you all fixed up!”

Before Axl could say a word to object, the two girls dragged him off; leaving Alia giggling as she left to start her shift.


	4. Not all sunshine and rainbows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING
> 
> abuse, people being predatory, please avoid this if you’re sensitive to that...  
> I know I’m being pushy and overdoing the warnings but I just wanna make sure I won’t hurt anyone.
> 
> IM SORRYYYYYYY PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEE

Lumine hugged his arms in an effort to shelter himself from the freezing cold gales of wind that almost swept him off his feet; cursing to himself for deciding to keep a low profile instead of taking the more lavish route he had access to. But it was much better than getting swarmed by paparazzis, or worse.

His gaze metaphorically tore apart the metal hull of the slow approaching airbus, it couldn't arrive fast enough. Lumine silently prayed that the café he picked had an option for extra-hot drinks. He hated Earth weather as much as the next guy, but who on that godforsaken planet decided it was a good idea for him to have an inconveniently human sensitivity to temperature difference?

As he boarded the bus, he kept his head down, meekly slipping his card into the slot and gracefully taking a seat at the very back. He took great pleasure in the solitude.

Lumine stared blankly through the window, daydreaming about the soon-arrival of his date with the Axl reploid he saw earlier that week. He wanted more than anything to learn more about such an interesting character. He was much more than a specimen to Lumine, he was the only outlier he’d ever seen. Someone just as isolated as he was.

“Hey, dolly.“ a throaty voice coed, cutting through Lumine’s blissful daydream. Along with it came the musk of overused perfume and waxy-smelling hair spray made Lumine’s circulatory vents throb, he looked up to see a snobby-looking human female gawking at him from the seat parallel to his.

“You wanna have a good time?” She winked, perfect white teeth eerily standing out against her greasy, bubbling tan skin. Her thin grey-ish hair and droopy eyelids tell Lumine’s processors she was well into her mid 50’s, and very very predatory based on her tone. Several warnings blared in his head, her smell was familiar...

“No thank you, ma’am. I’m afraid I wouldn’t stoop that low for sexual gratification.” Lumine scoffed, turning his gaze away from the woman. Maybe if he acted prissy enough, he could annoy her into silence. But obviously that was of no use.

“Oh you, always so sour.” She mused, “I guess Dr. Yaninski couldn’t whip you into shape by himself after all.” She sighed dramatically, the pop ups in Lumine’s subconscious getting louder and more blinding.

“Even after I gave him all those toys.” She chuckled almost manically, Lumine looked at her wide-eyed with fear. He felt sick. It was her.

“Of course, I could tattle on you-“ She grinned maliciously, rubbing the back of her grubby fingers down Lumine’s right cheek, much to his great disgust.

“You know you’re not supposed to be out and about, doll. You may be powerful but you know we have our tethers to your pretty little head.” She giggled.

“We could make you go Maverick, or bend you until you snap.” She balled up a fist, crushing presumably a tiny make-believe Lumine.

“What do you want from me?” Lumine’s voice trembled, his citrine-colored eyes almost shook with horror.

“Do a little favor for me of course.” She smiled innocently. Her face turned pleasant for a moment. It was void of any malice or any fragment of what she had done or wanted to do to Lumine. His meticulously planned escape from the lab had been found out, Dr.Yaninski could have placed a tracker on him. Lumine cursed to himself as the panic set in. And he just got out of that place, where his creator was most likely wasted and ready to take out his frustrations out.

“...or else I’ll come to finish you off later with Yaninski.” Her disgusting breath seared Lumine’s lungs despite them being artificial. He couldn’t handle another round of abuse.

The dread boiling in his abdomen clouded his head, causing his tear ducts to almost release the condensation they collected. Lumine had to chose. Continue with his day and accept his fate for later, or lessen the pain throughout the day. He was panicking, his eyes stung and he felt lightheaded; this couldn’t be real. Maybe he could get back before the date started? Or he could beg her to spare him? Before he could break down and agree, a young man interjected.

“Hey! Creep!” The businesswoman recoiled at a projectile being launched at her. It was a rock!  
Lumine traced the preceding path of the object and saw a young man with ginger hair leaning over the seat a row ahead of them on the opposite side.

“Get off him! He said no, greasy asshole!” He barked, the scar in the middle of his face crumpled and distorted due to his nose being wrinkled in disgust.

“What’s it to you, kid? He’s just some clunky old Reploid. Pile of junk can’t even think for himself.” She crossed her arms, “How about you respect your elders and mind your own business.” She spat.

“Uh- how about a hard no?!” He sneered, popping back down to get more ammunition.

“I don’t think you deserve any respect when you say that! ” He threw another large pebble at the woman.

“Racism isn’t cool, grandma. Maybe you’ll realize that when you get strangled by the poor Reploid soul that has to take care of your sorry ass when you're too old to do it yourself!” The entire bus began immediately glaring at them, which eventually swayed the woman to flee.

After the lady stormed off, the boy practically bounced into the seat beside Lumine. He ripped his mitten off and offered his hand to Lumine.

“The name’s Axl, I'm actually a Reploid,” he smiled warmly, “you okay?”  
Axl. It clicked in Lumine’s head who it was, but he was overwhelmed by an electric feeling. His body almost shook as his pump rate palpitated.

He couldn’t move, he was in so much shock at the act of kindness. “Lumine.” He managed to work out, “I am Lumine..” he wrung his hands anxiously,  
“We’ve met before.” Lumine shook his hand, confidence destroyed; he felt completely powerless from what had happened earlier. And he knew what kind of horrible fate would meet him later that day.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking…” Axl leaned closer, “who was that?”  
His voice turned to a concerned whisper, noticing Lumine’s sudden change in personality.

“I don’t know.” Lumine lied, gritting his teeth. Even if Axl had been kind to him, he wasn’t going to trust him with this information. Not yet at least.  
“Thank you, Axl.” Lumine returned to his serene and graceful attitude, straightening up and smiling warmly at the other Reploid.

“De nada!” Axl giggled, a secret pool of concern for his newfound friend Lumine. “I’ve never heard of the café you invited me to, do you know what it’s all about?” He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“Well, you’re about to find out!” Lumine pushed the buzzer and led Axl off the bus, comically, his quick strutting footsteps were out matching Axl’s energetic trot behind him.

“Woah! Lumine this is expensive!” He gawked at the beautiful patio, covered with tiny glimmering lights that hovered over the eating area. He felt he was very underdressed in his black hoodie and khaki-colored pants. This café looked to be populated with very rich and high-brow humans and reploids. Which to be completely honest, Axl was neither.

Lumine wore his work boots and a black poncho-like coat accompanied with a fluffy-choker-thing, and he wore a dark jumpsuit and some high waisted pants over it; which probably kept him quite warm.

It was really the type of thing Axl should’ve worn, but he simply couldn’t afford it. Being a newer hunter meant getting paid much much less than his buddies X and Zero, but he never complained because it was money. He knew very well he could still be stuck under Red Alert’s abusive environment or out on the streets.

“Pick anything you’d like, Axl, I will pay for it.” Lumine handed Axl a tablet with a menu of breakfast items and coffee. He hadn’t charged well and didn’t have an E-Tank before his early morning shift started. The only sustenance he was running on was a few stolen strawberries from Alia’s breakfast. So he was pretty starving.

“Are you sure, Lumine?” He apprehensively scrolled throughout the options, he felt a little guilty spending someone else’s money.

“Of course, think of this as a ‘thank you’ for what you did for me this morning.” He put a hand on Axl’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Agh! I can’t choose,” Axl blushed as he handed the tablet back to Lumine nervously, “Sorry.. Can you choose for me, please?” Axl covered his face, feeling like a little kid who was incapable of ordering for himself.

“No worries, I know it can be really confusing at first-“ Lumine nodded, swiftly tapping a few things, sending the order from the device, swiping his card, and setting it back on its dock. “I got you a meal because I figured you haven’t had much today, am I correct?” Lumine led Axl to a secluded area inside the shop, it being too cold to sit outside.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Axl raised his eyebrows, pulling Lumine’s chair out so he could sit down, earning a small thank you before he took his own seat across from him.

“The glow of your gem is much dimmer than when we first met at the elevator.” He gestured towards it, “You also seem like the type to normally avoid eating because of your light build.”

Axl leaned back, shocked.  
“Wow! You got all that just from looking at me?!” He exclaimed, a little bit too loud, but he couldn’t help but contain his awe.

“Of course, it’s something any reploid could notice.” Lumine crossed his hands over the table politely.  
“No one has ever pointed that out?” His brow furrowed in a worried stare.

“No…” Axl scratched the back of his neck, “No one has ever looked at me long enough to notice much.” He joked.

“How unfortunate…” Lumine’s gaze softened, “How could someone not look at you? There are so many small details that really show how much love and care went into your creation.”

Lumine’s voice darkened, he leaned forward a bit.  
“Individuality among reploids is a sacred gift, you are worth so much ,more than you realize. Cherish it, and be careful with what people do with those traits of yours.” And as quick as Lumine had turned the mood serious, he returned to his cheerful (Well, as cheerful as Lumine’s monotonous tone could get) mood.

“I think our food is ready, I will go fetch it.”  
And with that, he walked off, leaving Axl slightly dumbfounded. This was most certainly the most bizarre date he’d ever been on,

Lumine had hit it right on the mark, Axl was for sure his past with Red Alert wasn’t disclosed to anyone other than X and Zero. In fact, Lumine had disturbingly accurate assumptions about everything. It really bamboozled Axl; on one hand he could blame it on Lumine’s apparent extreme intelligence and blunt attitude; on the other, maybe he just didn’t know what truly being paid attention to was like.

But that got Axl thinking,  
“I have to thank him somehow, this is a tremendous favor…” He cycled through some options on how to repay his new.. Friend? Acquaintance? Love interest? Deep in thought, the face of the disgusting woman on the bus swept past his brain.

Axl replayed what little bits he heard her say to Lumine…  
“-couldn’t whip you into shape”  
“I could tattle on you.”  
“-finish you off later.”  
Now it occurred to him that she was no normal creep. She had close ties to Lumine. How could he have not noticed this sooner? Axl’s coolant turned icy as he culminated all the possible living situations Lumine could be suffering in.

The vague conclusion he reached was horrifying enough to curdle the ice cold coolant, making it into a horrible, painful slushie that made him turn blue. He felt lightheaded as images of only the most vile and heinous things he must have experienced played on repeat.

Axl knew he was about to overstep a boundary by a long shot.  
He knew he was going to make Lumine upset for crossing a line.  
He knew he was going to make his higher-ups infuriated for meddling.

But he now pieced together what the case was all about, and why X or Zero weren’t sent alone.

This was ten layers of absolutely fucked up. Axl was now fueled with the motivation to do whatever he had to do to reopen the investigation for the sake of justice for an innocent reploid. Even if it meant what he had to do next.


	5. Axl commits a necessary evil and is faced with Lumine’s salt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drama, juicy, juicy drama

It was raining outside when a band of Maverick Hunters tore Lumine and his abusers out of the labs. 

The several groups had burst through the doors while Dr. Jakob Yaninski was greeting Lumine, who had finally come to terms with the punishment that was waiting for him after milling about the streets until the headache he got became too unbearable. The remote punishment was only half of what was to come when he returned.

Lumine, sitting on the curb next to a bulky officer, shook in the freezing cold.

They had haphazardly dropped a thick fire blanket over him and left to raid the offices in order to find Asimov-knows-what more Jakob Yaninski was hiding. To be completely honest, Lumine was beyond upset at this situation. Don’t get him wrong, he was grateful for his newfound freedom from this horrible workplace; but he couldn’t shake the dreadful looming thought that he would be robbed of his entire purpose. 

He felt as if all the work he’d done was tossed over like physical data drives and computers were likely by those careless Hunters. His pride, the thing he had worked tirelessly and lovingly to craft was not only stolen from him by the disgusting, corrupt Doctor Yaninski, it will likely be shut down without a second thought.

Because who cared about the lowly thoughtss of the very mind that conceived the Elevator from it's very concept up to the architecture. Lumine knew it was because he was a Reploid. A robot with no thoughts or feelings, someone -no-  _ something _ that did not have a conscious mind or emotions of their own. 

The media run by humans would not support the decision to keep the Elevator running, and neither would the human-dominated investors. He would have no money to keep it running, therefore he would have to helplessly watch as it got torn down and thrown into deep space.

He silently cursed the humans and unjust system they ruled over through chattering teeth, had he been made from flesh he probably would have bit through his teeth and gums with rage. With a furrowed brow, Lumine pondered for a moment who could have connected the dots to who could’ve found Yaninski out.

He had been out on a business trip not far from Abel Prefecture, so no one could have pointed to physical damages on Lumine, which had been repaired. Neither did anyone have access to his memory files other than the main computer and Yaninski.

The only reason he had gained suspicion of the law enforcement and Anti-Maverick agencies at all was because of rumors of drug-related activity and Reploid exploitation related to several millionaires including Jakob Yaninski and his new assistant, who Lumine did not know the name of. The new assistant being the woman harassing him on the public transport earlier that day.

It wasn't hard to realize that Axl was the one that tipped the Hunters off. He had coughed up enough memory data from the encounter with the woman on the bus to trigger another, more thorough investigation of the Orbital Elevator. 

Him being buddy-buddy with the higher-ups even pushed the validity of his accusations even more; with the indisputable evidence of Reploid exploitation through threats of Maverickism meant that the Hunters could swoop in and take care of the issue for more funding from the government. 

Every agency was already brawling over cases to boost their reputation, and this. the “big one” would most certainly make them the prime minister's lap dog.

Lumine had never felt so alone, so robbed, so stripped of his pride and power. So betrayed.

He had a hunch he was being used, but he let his feelings dictate his decisions. Instead of saving him the pain, he chose to fall in love with that-  _ stupid _ Reploid.

If it weren't for him, Lumine could be en route to finishing his project, even if he had to endure the vile acts of Yaninski and his assistant, and his name to be erased from the title. He would just be happy with how it would turn out. Just the fact he changed the world would fill his void.

But no. Axl came along and disrupted the peace. Lumine’s blood boiled, he found himself wanting to go back to the abuse. Because when he was being tortured, at least he had a purpose. At least he was doing something good. 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.” Lumine thought aloud, his stomach lay at his feet, which he felt had dropped into Earth’s second ocean and crushed under the pressure. Everything was blurry and in slow motion. Lumine knew in this moment, he had already died.

“Lumine!” A voice called from across the road. It was  _ Axl.  _ Lumine stood up to face him, despair and anger swirling in his gut.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, I had no idea-“ he blurted, going in for a hug before Lumine threw a fist at the other boy. Axl rocketed to the ground, splashing into a puddle. The officer behind Lumine scooped him up by the elbows, holding him back in a strong grip. Lumine struggled, but was unsuccessful in escaping.

“Why?!” Lumine burst into tears, “Why did you do this to me? Was all this just about your  _ stupid  _ case _? _ ” He was yelling now, “I thought I actually found someone who didn’t use me for their own gain.” He snarled, unaware of what he was saying.

“...What?” Axl asked meekly, still laying on the wet asphalt.

“You never cared about me, did you.” Tears fell over Lumine’s cheeks, “I was wrong, maybe you  _ are  _ like all the other Reploids.” He spat, “Only dedicated to what others tell them to do.” And with that, Lumine fell silent. The only noise was the uneven whirr of the vent fans from both robots, who were crying.

“Maybe this one wasn’t worth saving, Axl.” The officer gruffly shoved Lumine into the modified ride chaser, “I don’t think he really wanted to be saved.”

As Lumine was bathed in the darkness of the van, the flame of his anger faded. He had been scraped clean of mental energy, and was staring blankly at the floor.

As the vehicle activated, he let the realization of what he’d said to Axl set in.

To put it very lightly, horrible was just the tip of the iceberg.

The description also being accurate to what what Axl had just gotten himself into.


End file.
